Pain after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and resuscitation

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

PAINCARE is an observational substudy embedded within the international STEPCARE trial that collects detailed data on pain intensity, pain assessments, and analgesic use in adult patients resuscitated after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and treated in the ICU. The study follows patients from early post-return-of-spontaneous-circulation care in the ICU and links pain and analgesic data with sedation, delirium, ICU resource use, early neurological recovery, and patient-reported long-term outcomes. No experimental interventions are given; data are collected prospectively across participating centers in Sweden. The goal is to map current pain management practices in this population and explore associations between pain care and short- and long-term outcomes.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
* Adult, age 18 years or older
* Spontaneous circulation without chest compressions for at least 20 minutes
* Comatose, defined as not obeying verbal commands
* Enrolled within 4 hours after return of spontaneous circulation

Exclusion Criteria:

* Restrictions or limitations of care
* On extracorporeal membrane oxygenation before randomization
* Pregnancy
* Previously randomized in the STEPCARE trial
* Trauma or hemorrhage as the presumed cause of arrest
* Suspected or confirmed intracranial hemorrhage

Where it's running

• Dep. of Intensive Care Halmstad Lasarett
  Halmstad, Sweden Recruiting
• Department of Intensive Care, Skåne University Hospital
  Malmö, Sweden Recruiting
• Dep. of Intensive Care, Norrlands Universitets Sjukhus
  Umeå, Sweden Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Joachim P Düring, MD, PhD — Lunds Universitet, Institutionen för kliniska vetenskaper, Lund, Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Skåne University Hospital , Malmö, Sweden
• Study coordinator: Joachim P Düring, MD, PhD
• Email: joachim.during@med.lu.se
• Phone: +46705917599

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.